The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a user selectable data wipe system for an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As is commonly known, information may be stored on a hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive, compact disk, or other data storage device. From time to time, this information may need to be deleted or otherwise permanently removed from the data storage device for security reasons. For instance, eliminating personal data on HDDs that are returned to an IHS manufacturer has become a growing concern for many end users. As another example, confidential information may need to be removed from the data storage device before the IHS can be re-used or discarded. Additionally, government regulations may require that data be erased before the IHS is returned it to the vendor or reused.
Data storage device manufacturers generally allow programs to remove all information stored on the HDD by performing what is known as a data wipe. In a data wipe, an application may write all memory bits as 1's, 0's or a combination of these using one or more passes. Presently, data wipes are performed by using a third party software application (e.g., a computer program supplied by a third party to perform a data wipe of the data storage device). Traditionally, the third party applications may be executed using a floppy drive, a CD drive or a USB device.
In order for this type of application to be accepted by the U.S. Government, it has to conform to a third level data wipe process (e.g., what is known as a DOD 3 wipe). In this type of wipe process the data bits are over written three times to ensure all previous data is overwritten and cannot be recovered. Most third party data wipe software applications do support this standard. Unfortunately, using the third party applications, users need to boot the IHS to a disk operating system (DOS) in order to perform the wipe function. This becomes a problem because some IHS manufacturers are shipping IHSs without floppy disk drives (e.g., the DOS drive). Thus, there is no way to run a third party application that requires a floppy disk drive.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved user selectable data wipe system absent the disadvantages discussed above.